Being With You
by narutogirl17
Summary: Bella Swan is moving on from a tragic experience...can Jacob Black help her get over it?
1. Chapter 1

Tying my shoes, I grabbed my jacket and my keys and headed towards the door.

"Hey, Alice! I'll be right back." She popped her head from behind her laptop.

"You'll be back so we can go out right?" she pouted. "I didn't buy that outfit for us for nothing, you know."

I smiled. "Yes, I'll be back, Alice."

"Great!" she chirped. I waited.

"You done?" I teased.

She waved me off over the top of her little workstation. Shaking my head, I stepped outside. I started off hoping I could to there before sunset.

Walking is like my own little personal therapy. As you get your stride in place, you eventually let go of your surroundings and just feel. I don't mean power walking. Just regular walking and the feeling of putting one foot in one of the other.

In no time I had arrived at First Beach. And just in time, too. I took off my shoes and walked over the sand to the bleached-white logs, enjoying the feel of the grains in between my toes. Sitting down, I stared out over the water and watched the sunset. One of my favorite things about this place was how the evening sunlight made the trees lining the beach turn almost jade in color. I also loved the way it turned the stones on the beach so many different colors. I tried to sort them all; yellow, purple, shades of blue and dark red, green, orange…there was even a little pink in there.

"Excuse me, miss!"

Turning around, I saw a boy I had never seen in my life standing up on the bank where there wasn't any sand, staring at me expectedly. Sigh. What does a girl have to do to get some privacy? Well, I can't deny him passage to the beach no matter how much I want to. It is a public area.

He was about average height but still taller than me with dark, short cropped hair and russet brown skin. The sun made it look like he was in a halo of light. Crazy, right? I know. His arms were tensed from carrying all that equipment and they looked delicious. Screw privacy. Did he work out? I wonder if he'll let me exercise with him. There is nothing sexier than a hot guy covered in sweat. Deep breathe. I finally got to his face, and when I tell you, I mean just that, I got lost in his gorgeous dark brown eyes. I mean, I always that that I was the only one with these kind of eyes. But I guess I was wrong.

Now I see what Alice meant when she said my eyes were like doors to my soul in the literal sense of the word. I couldn't breathe. That was, until he saw me checking him out and smiled. Immediately, I noticed his teeth. Oh…my…god! His teeth were pointed. Well, not pointed, but longer than his other teeth, but not to the point of vampirism. They were rounded at the bottom. So, maybe…wolf-teeth? Yeah! That's it. Wolf-teeth. He was dressed in fishing attire, you know…torn pants, a holey shirt, raggedy shoes; stuff that he wouldn't care to get damaged by fish blood. I swear I will never go fishing. Now back to the teeth. I wonder what kind of hickey those could give.

_Focus! You just met the guy! Well, not officially. So lets say acquainted. Yeah, acquainted. You just got acquainted with the guy. No…that's all wrong? What do you think? No, wait. Let me not ask you. You're too busy drooling over I guy you're barely acquainted with. Ahh! Did it again!_

I started. Who the hell are you?!

_I'm your subconscious genie. I will grant you three wishes…_

?

_Yeah, I know. Lame. I was just kidding. But I am your subconscious. Here to help you through these difficult times._

What difficult times?

_Well, for one, you've been sitting here eye-fucking the guy for the past five minutes and not even so much as a hi._

! Oh, crap.

_Yeeeeah. Tsk. Now would be the time to do that._

Shut up.

_Is that anyway to treat your subconscious? If it wasn't for me, he probably would have walked off and spread rumors about the girl on the beach who had no social skills. The nerve of some people!_

Ignoring the voice in my head….wow, that sounded totally bizarre, I opened my mouth to speak to Mr. Fine As Hell.

"Um…Hi." I said, giving a little wave. I hoped he didn't think I was crazy.

_Fat chance!_

"Hey," he waved his hand in greeting. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a couple of seconds." He had to raise his voice in order for me to hear him clearly. He smiled.

He seems nice enough. I pat the space next to me, signaling that I want him to sit down. He grinned, this time showing a slight dimple. Breath. He came over and set his fishing gear to the side before sitting down. A cold breeze made me realize how cold I was. It was getting late. My body responded to the heat coming from this boy's body and it had me scooting over until I was practically pressed up against him. He didn't seem to mind. It was silent for a while. Then he spoke.

"So…I'm just going to get the pleasantries out of the way. What's your name?"

"Bella. Bella Swan." I said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. I do that when I'm nervous.

"Pretty name. I'm Jacob, Jacob Black. But you can call me Jake if it's easier for you."

_I much rather prefer Mr. Fine As Hell._

For once, I agree with you.

"Now, we can go on with my questions. How are you?"

_Ok, weird first question._

It was the second question but again, I agree.

_That's not going to be a regular thing, is it? Because I'm getting scared. Normal people disagree with the voice in their head. You know that, right?_

Shhhh!

"I'm alright, I guess. Why?"

"I don't know. I used to come here often to fish but I found a new fishing spot down a ways." He pointed east. "But if memory serves me correctly…you were here almost every day also."

_True._

"And you always sit in the exact same spot…"

_Also true._

I leave before you do, so I try to talk to you, but you always seem to be in your own world…"

_He's right._

Shut up! I'm trying to listen!

"But today I came late so I saw you walking towards this bench, and now here we are."

_What a coincidence!_

"I just…I just come here to think. That's why you probably didn't get my attention. I tune everything out."

_What an understatement._

If I have to tell you to shut up one more time!

Silence.

Thank you.

_You're welcome._

Sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I turned to stare at him.

"You barely even know me. Why would you want to burden yourself with my problems?"

"I just…" he paused.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or anything. You just what?"

"No, it's okay. I understand. It's just I've lived in a house with two girls plus my Mom. Whenever they got into a problem, they would mope around the house for a couple of days. Finally, I would ask them what's wrong. And, of course, they ignored me."

"Eventually, they tell me everything. Afterwards, they tell me that they felt better and thank me for listening. So, I guess it grew with me. I think I would have gotten Best Listener in the yearbook if there was such a thing." He joked. I laughed with him, albeit nervously. I didn't know about sharing my horrid past. I've only told Alice. I cringed at somebody else knowing.

He surprised me by taking my hand in his huge, warm one and saying, "You can trust me."

I stared into his eyes and found that I could. It was like all of a sudden, I needed to get it out and off my chest. It was refreshing since I haven't done it in a while.

I sighed and fixed him with a stern look. "This stays between us right? There's nobody here with you recording this, right?" I know. I'm being paranoid but I had to know.

He wrinkled his brow. "Of course not. It would be disrespectful to do otherwise. Plus, my friend left before I got here so you're good." He frowned a bit but it was probably the sun in my eyes.

_Trust him._

"Okay." I answered them both.

He sat up eagerly and prepared to listen.

I giggled before sighing again and launching into my tragedy of a life.

"It's like this…"


	2. Chapter 2

JACOB

Saturday! Finally, it's here. No work for two whole days. What a relief. I kicked back the covers and took a shower. After brushing my teeth, I grabbed the huge bags of Doritos and two packs of six Pepsi I had bought the day before from my hiding space under my bed and lounged on my sofa in the living room. Flicking the television on, I turned to a random station and settled into my throne for the day. It wasn't long before I fell asleep amongst the bags and bottles.

The first thing I noticed was the fact that it was cold as hell. Where the hell am I? I couldn't see any thing but white, white, and more white. No, wait. There's something in the distance. But it was a little blurry. After a few moments I realized who it was. It was her. The same girl I see all the time when Tyler and I go fishing. As she got closer, I could see her more clearly. Her hair flowed over her shoulders, leaving her shoulders bare. She wore a yellow sundress and. But she wore no shoes whatsoever. She got even closer and held out her hand to me.

"Jake, come to me…Come to me, Jake…" she sounded so real. I took a step forward but then stopped. There was another voice coming from behind me.

"Jake, Jake…!"

Turing around, I saw nobody.

"Jake, come…" I returned my attention to my Dream Girl. Get it? Never mind.

Ignoring the other voice, I took a step forward….and fell into ice cold water. As soon as I hit the water, I couldn't breathe. Looking up at the hole that I just fell through, I saw my Dream Girl bend down and reach her hand into the water, trying to reach me. But I couldn't move. My muscles were on lock down from the sudden cold. Combine that with the fact that I was quickly losing oxygen and you could say things weren't looking good. Although I couldn't hear her anymore, I could hear the other voice crystal clear.

"Jake! Jake…Jake, wake up!" Now that I was really listening, the voice sounded oddly familiar. You know when you have a scary ending to a dream and you try to wake yourself up? That's exactly what I did. I tried about three times and eventually wrenched myself out of my sleep.

"What the-" I blinked in the light and focused on the figure holding something above his head. Peering, I could see it was Tyler, holding an empty bucket. Groaning, I turned myself and put my feet on the ground.

**Clatter!**

Something fell to the floor. Bending down, I picked it up. It was ice. What the hell is ice doing…Coldness on my hand. Lifting it up, I looked at it. And looked at it. And looked at it some more. I didn't understand. Why was my hand wet? Tyler snickered. Turning to him, I saw Tyler holding his stomach laughing his ass off. So that's what the bucket was for. Motherfucker poured ice water on me. That would explain the sudden drop into the ice in my dream. That happens you know. You don't have to believe me. Glaring at him, I threw the ice that in my hand at him, hitting him square in the face.

"Ow! Jeez, Jake! It was a joke!" he shouted, holding his face in his hands.

"Oh, it was? Well, in that case…ha ha." I said sarcastically. He glowered at me before heading to the bathroom.

"Yeah, that's right! I own you bitch!" he stuck his middle finger outside the door. I laughed.

I got off the couch and wandered into the kitchen. Opening the fridge I took out the orange juice and drank from the bottle. Wiping my mouth, I put it back in the fridge and lay back down on the couch. Since I was so rudely interrupted before, maybe he's learned his lesson and I can catch some z's.

**Tap, tap, tap...**

I gritted my teeth. Can't a guy catch a break?

"Tyler, open the door!" I yelled, closing my eyes.

**Tap, tap, tap**…

I sighed. Hauling myself off my makeshift bed, I shuffled to the door. Pulling open, I openly rolled my eyes and groaned for the second time that day. Just my fucking luck. Sam Uley. I'm supposed to relaxing today. Not stressing over turdbags.

"Hello, Jacob." He said. He really gets on my nerves with that pleasantry shit.

"Hello, Sam." I replied, my voice a monotone.

He studied me for a moment before he spoke again.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second." He asked.

I waited.

"A second's already passed." I said, closing the door in his face.

"Jake! Jake!" Jake yelled, pounding on the door.

"Go away, Spam." I said.

"Jake, please. It's important." He pleaded.

"I'm sure it can wait till later. Or better yet never. Just leave me alone." I laid down on the couch and threw my arm over my eyes. I can't stand Sam. He's been trying to get me to talk to him for weeks now. I swear, he just doesn't get it. I don't to have anything to do with him. He's a bad influence. He and his gang walk around here like they own the place.

As soon as I got back from college, he cornered me at the weekend bonfire. Told me that I would be getting into something serious real soon. At first, I didn't what the hell he was talking about. But then I saw the rest of his friends looking at me while he was talking to me. That's when I figured it out. He wanted me in his little group circle. I got in his face and told him that he had no right to do this after what just happened with my Dad. He told me I didn't understand. The hell I didn't. After that, he tried to corner me every chance he got. But I didn't care for a thing he had to say. Fuck him.

"Who was at the door?" Tyler asked, sitting down in the chair and turning up the volume on the television.

"Come on, man! I'm trying to sleep!" I complained.

"Payback is a bitch." He replied.

"Kiss my ass, man. If you think this is over, you got another thing coming."

"Ooooh, I'm scared."

"You should be." I said ominously and went to my room

**Time Skip**

"Here, take this." I handed the bait bucket to Tyler and went around and took the fishing rods out the back of the truck. I cherished this truck to no end. It's the only thing left of my father after he died. He loved it as well. He left me everything he owned, including his house. Now that I had graduated and working, I could take care of it with no problem.

"Jake! Hurry up! We don't want to miss the fish." He yelled, walking down the trail. We found it when we were walking home from work one day. Well, Tyler found it. The truck was in the shop getting a fix-up and we didn't have a ride. I shook my head remembering the way the truck looked when I first saw it. It was a mess. It needed almost everything fixed. And since the car shop wasn't up and running before he passed away, there was no way to fix it. I would have just damaged it further. Anyway, when we were walking, Tyler caught sight of a faint trail and started to follow it. We soon came upon a small lake. From the looks of it, nobody had been here for years. There was no trash at all save for the crude fireplace somebody had made out of huge rocks and old logs.

Tyler was the first to say we keep this place a secret. And I agreed. We covered the covered the entrance of the trail with a tree that I bought from the plant shop a ways from my house. I was pretty bushy so it covered nicely. Since then, it's only been us fishing here. Dad would have been proud. I smiled to my self as I pushed aside a stray branch that hadn't fallen to the ground and walked over to Tyler who was sorting the bait.

"What did you do?" I asked. "I sorted that out before we left."

"Well, I kinda stumbled as I walked over all the rocks and it flew out of my hand." I sighed.

"Alright, let me deal with this. Go and get the boat ready."

"Cool, thanks Jake. And sorry."

I nodded, picking up the pieces of small fish that had fallen in between the crevices of the rocks. The boat had been left here by the person who here last. Or at least we think so. There's no telling who had been here before us. I came across it when we first started fishing here. We threw out our lines from the shore and waited for a while, munching on chips and soda. My line had started to fly out across the water and I barely made it in time to catch before I got sunk. I pulled back on the rod, trying to reel the fish in and tripped on a rock. Don't ask me how, I just did. I fell back and hit my head and the side of the boat. It was covered in some kind of camouflage sheet, blending in with the rocks and trees. Who ever was here before us was smart as hell. I keep wondering what had made them leave this place.

"Yo, Jake!"

"Yeah?"

"Look dude." He was pointing at the boat. I came over and I sighed in exasperation. A huge branch had fallen and bludgeoned a hole in the bottom of the boat. There was no way we would be able to fix this. I didn't even have the material for it. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration.

"This so is fucked up right now." I said, shaking my head.

"I know, man. We'll just have to go to First Beach and fish." He picked up the fishing rod from inside the boat and started toward the trail.

"Yeah, but the fish don't bite so much over there." I walked slowly to the bait bucket and picked it up, following him. He shrugged.

"It'll just have to do for now until we can get it fixed. Besides, look on the bright side. You get to see the brunette you like so much." He waggled his eyebrows.

I threw a piece of fish at him, catching him in the back of his neck. I started to laugh as he reached to get it and it slid down the back of his shirt.

"Jaaaake! You fucking dickhead!" He shouted.

"You asked for it." I said in between chuckled. He danced in place, trying to get it out of his shirt. When that didn't work, he tried to flick the back his shirt to get it out. It was fucking hilarious.

After watching him squirm for a bit, I helped him get it out. Throwing it to the dirt, I turned to see him glaring at me.

"What? There was no way I was putting that back in the bucket."

"I don't give a fuck about your stupid bucket! Why the hell did you do that for?" He gritted out. What the fuck is he getting so mad for? It was a joke. I opened my mouth to tell him that but he threw down the bucket spilling the fish everywhere again.

"You know what? Fuck it. I don't even want to know. Fuck this and fuck you, man!"

And with that, he stalked off back down the trail, disappearing behind the trees. I blinked. What the hell was that? I thought as I bent down to pick up the dirty fish. I consider whether or not to rinse them out in the bucket of water I had in the back of the truck but I told myself no. I don't think the fish would really care. I could wash my hands though, I don't want my hands to smell like raw fish. That's just nasty. I picked up the equipment and headed down the trail, racked with worry for Tyler. He's never acted like this before. What is going on? Maybe when I get home, I can talk to him and apologize. I would hate for our friendship to end like this.

When I got to the truck, I placed the equipment in the back and hopped in with it. When I found the bucket of water, I flipped the lid open, squirted some hand soap leftover from our last fishing trip into my hand and dunked my hand into the water. After I finished, I jumped down off the side and pulled open the door, started the engine and sped off down the road. As I got closer to First Beach, I put the thought of Tyler in the back of my mind to deal with when I got back to the house. Positive, think positive. My dream girl. Now there's a positive thought. She's a complete mystery to me. I mean, we had fished there for time before we found the trail. And she was always there. I could never really speak to her because she never acknowledged me. It was like she was in her own little bubble.

From my last memory of her, she's freaking gorgeous. She had the palest skin ever and long, wavy mahogany that she kept up in a ponytail whenever I saw her. It would be great to see it flow down her shoulders like in my dream. I hadn't had a chance to see her face yet, being the coward that I was. Tyler was right, I did like her. Who wouldn't? But I needed to pluck up the courage and talk to her. Today. It has to be today. I took a deep breathe as I pulled in to the small parking space just off the shore. Turning off the engine, I gave my self a pep talk.

'_Okay, Jake…you got this. Just stay calm and introduce yourself. And don't ramble for god's sake. Just be yourself. She seems like a nice girl…you just got to get her attention. Be cool.'_

Best pep talk ever. Taking a deep breathe, I stepped out of the car and took my fishing gear out of the back and started towards the beach. I looked around, checking to see if anybody was around. I didn't want to be watched while I'm doing my thing, you know. There was movement to my right, and there she was. Huh. I guess I got here the same time that she did. She took of her shoes and walked through the sand. She had perfect grace and beauty. She was like a swan. She went towards the bleached-white logs that wash up on the beach and sits down. Her spot hasn't changed since the last time I've been here. Walking forward, I said the first thing that came to my head.

"Excuse me, miss!" I shook my head. So much for being cool.

She turned around and I almost dropped my equipment. If I said she was beautiful now, it was nothing compared to how she looked when you actually looked her in the face. She was stunning. Her pale, creamy white skin went perfectly with her long mahogany locks. This was the first time I had ever seen her with her hair out. I really wanted to tug on it while she-

Hold on. Was she checking me out? I looked closely at her. Her eyes were ever so slowly moving up my body. Yep, she was definitely checking me out. When she looked into my eyes, I smiled. Her eyes widened. She seemed to come out of her daze and spoke.

"Um…hi." She waved her hand minutely.

"Hey," I waved back. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a couple of seconds."

I was delighted to say the least when she patted the space next to her. She wants to talk to me? Holy shit! I'm actually doing it. I put my equipment down before I sat next to her.

Stay calm. Don't blow it.

"So…I'm going to get the pleasantries out of the way. What's your name?"

"Bella. Bella Swan." Swan, huh? Very befitting.

"Pretty name. I'm Jacob. Jacob Black. But you can call me Jake if it's easier for you."

She was silent so I continued.

"Now, we can go on with my questions. How are you?"

"I alright, I guess. Why?"

Good question, Jake. I told myself. Why did you have to be so blunt and stupid.

"I don't know. I used to come here often to fish but I found a new fishing spot down a ways." I pointed in the direction my secret spot. "But if memory serves me correctly…you were almost every day also, and you always sit in the exact same spot. I leave before you do, so I tried to talk to you, but you always seemed to be in your own little world. But today I came late so I saw you walking towards this bench, and now here we are."

She looked a little flustered when she answered. "I just…I just come here to think. That's why you probably didn't get my attention. I tune everything out."

Oh, she comes here to think. She trying to find some peace and here I am fantasizing about all the things I want to do to her. What kind of a person am I?

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She turned to stare at me and I was lost in her depths.

"You barely know me. Why would you want to burden yourself with my problems?"

Good point. "I just…" I paused trying to think of a reason. When I came up with my known title as a good listener, she mistook my silence for hesitation.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or anything. You just what?"

"No, it's okay. I understand. It's just I've lived in a house with two girls plus my Mom. Whenever they got into a problem, they would mope around the house for a couple of days. Finally, I would ask them what's wrong. And, of course, they ignored me.

Eventually, they tell me everything. Afterwards, they tell me that they felt better and thank me for listening. So, I guess it grew with me. I think I would have gotten Best Listener in the yearbook if there had been such a thing." I joked, trying to lighten the conversation. No reason to make her more uncomfortable than she already was. She laughed with me, though a little nervously. I wonder what was wrong. I wanted to see her smile again. She seemed shocked when I took her hand in mine.

"You can trust me."

She stared into my eyes and seemed to agree with herself. If that made any sense at all.

Then she fixed with a stern look. Oh, boy.

"This stays between us right? There's nobody here with you recording this, right?"

Why would she think that?

"Of course not. It would be disrespectful otherwise. Plus, my friend left before I got here so you're good." I frowned a bit thinking about how he left. I hope I get my friend back.

"Okay." She said.

Okay, good. I sat up, waiting.

She giggled before sighing.

"It's like this. I lived in Connecticut before I moved here about six years ago. I went to high school there and fell in love with a guy called Peter Carbone. We were together for about all through high school. During our Senior Prom, he proposed and I refused. I wasn't ready to commit yet. I let him know that and he agreed to wait.

It was about six months later that things made a turn for the worst. We had already graduated and I had moved in with him. I had classes at the local college was doing great. I started working part time in a pet store, making some money for myself. Peter was attending an online college because it was easier. I came home from work one day to find him in bed with a random girl. After all that time, after all that we've been through and he does this to me. I had never cheated on him nor did I feel the desire to. Yet, he felt the need to do this. While he was trying to explain to me, I packed my bags and went to live with my Dad in Florida until I could save up enough money for a place of my own. Peter was rich and the house was in your name. Sometimes, I wish we had been married so I could have divorced his ass and gotten some money outta him.

Time passed and I got over Peter. I had gotten enough money to get my own place but there was no need to move since my Dad became diagnosed with cancer and died about a year after I moved in and left the house to me. I met a new guy but he was just a friend. He helped with my Dad's passing and kept me from closing in on myself, from losing myself in my sorrow. He was a good friend. It wasn't long before he left to get married with his girlfriend. He said good-bye and promised to write and everything that goes with it but that didn't make me feel any less alone. During the weeks that followed, I followed my daily routine like a programmed robot. I made sure the house stayed clean, the bills were paid and I had gas in my car. About two months from that, I got into a car crash. And you wouldn't believe who it was."

She turned to look at me and her expression almost brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I'm that sensitive. She looked so broken. The light was completely depleted from her eyes, leaving nothing but emptiness. I started to get upset but I let her continue.

"It was the girl who slept with Peter all those years ago. Her name was Rosalie Hale. She came out of the car and started throwing names and curses. When she recognized me as Peter's ex that's when she really let go. She got in my face and told me that it was my fault that she had lost Peter. My fault that he hung himself the ceiling fan in their living room. She told me a bunch of other things but those were the two that are branded into my brain. I was shocked, but I didn't just stand there. I told her it wasn't my fault that karma was a bitch and although he probably should've died, it was her fault that since she was such a slut. She slapped and I punched her in the mouth. That's where I got these scars."

She held out her hand to show me her knuckles. They were faint but still there. Three jagged lines where her hand had connected with Rosalie's teeth. A little to the side, there seemed to be tiny marks. Stitches. She punched that girl so hard she had stitches.

"I can see the surprise on your face. Yeah, I punched her that hard. I put all my loneliness, depression and anger into that punch. The doctor even told me I was lucky enough to have hand still functioning. I still have pictures of the x-rays. You could see where I scratched the bone. While I was waiting to be released from the hospital, the nurse came to me and said that someone was waiting to see me. When the person came in, couldn't believe it. It was the girl who was in the car with Rosalie. She told me that she was sorry for Rosalie's behavior. That she didn't know that this was going to happen. She and I became close friends after that. Rosalie was pissed that "I would dare take another person from her". Her words not mine. She didn't dare get in my face and lay a finger on me again.

She sighed and looked out over the ocean. It was getting pretty dark. I didn't care, I wanted her to finish. When she didn't, I leaned to look at her face. She was crying.

"Why are you crying? What's wrong? I told you can trust me."

"I know that. It's just…I know that you seem to like me and I like you too but I don't think you will when I tell you this. What use am I going be to you like this?" she gestured to herself.

"Bella, it's okay, really. Tell me. Get it off your chest." I said.

She shook her head. "No, it's not okay. You're not going to like me after this." She looked at me with tears in her eyes. My heart tore to pieces seeing her like this.

I stared back. "Well, you'll never know unless you tell me."

She seemed to think for a minute before she replied. And when she did, I lost it.

"I was raped."

Bella Pov

It was reliving all of my nightmares all over again. One by one they flashed in front of my eyes in regular intervals as I told him my story. I don't know why, but the more I told, they I wanted to say. It was like breathing. With every intake of breathe my mind brought forth more painful memories, and as I exhaled my mouth spewed them out. However, with each flash of pain brought forth a wave of release. It was like I was Atlas holding the world on my shoulders. But instead of a planet, I carried years of pain and suffering that, until now, I didn't think I was ever going to get rid of. When Jake offered to take my burden on his shoulders, I selfishly agreed. Knowing that, once I got to the gist of my tragic tale, he was going to leave. He was going to think me unworthy of his time. Unworthy of space. It's the same thing HE told me.

'_You are nothing, understand me!? You are a worthy bitch that not good for anything, not even a good fuck! You're completely fucking useless! Useless…useless….'_

But I trusted Jake, after I told him that I was raped, I turned my back to him so I wouldn't have to see the look of disgust on his face. It wouldn't stop me from hearing the heated comments on how filthy and impure I was. But I was ready for it. It was silent for a while, but I heard ragged breathing so I knew he didn't leave. I turned around slowly, bracing myself to look into his eyes. What I saw did not prepare me for what happened next.

As I faced him, I saw him shaking. And I don't mean like shiver-shake. I mean like he was literally vibrating. When I looked into his eyes, they were locked on mine. He was angry. No, not angry. He was livid. He stood up slowly and turned to walk back up the beach, his fishing equipment forgotten. I kept watching and waiting for him to turn around and say that it was okay, that I had nothing to worry about. But he just kept going and going. Until finally he disappeared into the darkness.

I broke and clutched my chest. I fell to the ground and started crying my eyes out. My cries turned to screams. The hole that I had kept stitched up for so long ripped open and I convulsed from the pain of it. It racked my body. A tsunami after tsunami of pain and loneliness. Everything hit me all at once. One can only take so much pain, and after a while I blacked out, praying to whatever was watching to keep me that way.

JACOB

What is happening to me? I feel like my body is itching to rip of my skin. The heat coming from my body was extraordinary. You could fry bacon on my skin. I fell to the ground a few feet away from my truck and screamed. Screamed for somebody to make it stop. Screamed for somebody to put me out of my misery.

Between the intervals of my screams, I could hear Bella screaming as well. I could feel her pain through her screams. A black shadow came over my vision. But it wasn't me blacking out. This shadow had two eyes and it was staring right at me. My rational mind was telling me to move but as I lay there, some other part took over, and suddenly I couldn't move. I didn't want to. As crazy as it sounds, this presence looming over me was familiar.

The shadow seemed to nod its head and, as I watched, it got blurry around the edges. The black turned to the color of human skin. Hair appeared on its head, and under it, rounded human ears. Arms sprouted from the sides of it and hands and fingers came next. I couldn't make sense of it. Why was this shadow starting to look human? The figure shifted and leaned closer, into the path of the streetlight coming from the parking lot.

"Hello, Jacob."

Holy shit.

"Sam?"

Unknown Pov

It's been years and the only thing I can think about is her. I thought vampires were supposed to lose their memory when they transition but I guess I'm defying the laws of vampire nature by remembering. As I waited for Emment to get back to me with Demetri's answer, I couldn't help but think if she really thought she could get away from me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tyler Pov**

I ran through the forest of Forks like I had never run before, jumping over branches and dodging trees like a freaking dog. I couldn't understand what was happening to me. One moment I'm fishing with Jake and the next I'm so enraged I couldn't stand to be within five miles of him. Which I didn't understand, I mean all he did was play a little joke; something that I would usually just laugh off. So what is going on? I came to a stop just inside the shade of the trees and dropped to my knees, clutching my head. I let out a surprised cry when I realized I was really burning up. My body temperature had to be past the normal degree that it's supposed to be. I shook my head, trying to shake off the pain but it only served to make it hurt more. The pain had spread throughout my body, my every nerve ending on fire and in turn the pain made me angry. Why was this happening to me? Another wave of pain rocked my body and I clenched my eyes shut and willed myself to go to sleep, to do anything that could give some relief from this pain. A clanging sounded to my right and my head snapped up and a growl came from deep in my chest. My eyesight had become keener in the last ten minutes, so it took no time to see who had startled me. Someone was taking out the trash and apparently they had dropped the lid to the trashcan. As they bent to pick it up, the streetlight above them flashed on and I couldn't breathe.

She was perfect. Her jet-black hair shot out in all directions, framing her small face. Her face fit her body and my pants grew tight, as I looked her over. She may have been tiny but she filled out in all the right areas. Her skin was flawless; there wasn't a blemish or pimple in sight. As she put the lid, she turned to go inside and her eyes locked mine for just a second before she walked up the stairs and went inside. Somewhere in the confines of my brain, a voice yelled out, "MINE!"

When she closed the door, the streetlight turned off and it was like someone turned back on the pain. I tumbled to the ground on my stomach and clutched my hair, panting as wave after wave of pain rocked my entire body, each one stronger than the last. Hearing someone step toward me from my left snapped me out of it enough for me to make me shoot up despite the pain and back myself against the nearest tree, snarling at the strangers. When did I learn to make these sounds? Another sounded from my right, my front and then my back. I was fully surrounded on all sides. They were big like Jake but…bigger. How in the hell is that possible?

"Tyler, it's me. Sam."

I growled and look around to see where he was, my eyes darting around to every person until my eyes landed on him. He was standing in front of me, with his arms up and his palms out to show me he wasn't going to hurt me. But when he spoke again, his voice was in my head.

_Tyler, can you hear me?_

I grabbed my head when I heard his voice. It made my head hurt and I got angrier. Someone took a step toward me and that's when I lost it. I started shaking, tremors rolling down my body one by one. I dropped to the ground again as I felt my body temperature rise another few degrees. I tried to stand up, leaning against a tree and pushing myself up.

SNAP!

I gasped, arching my back causing me to fall on my face. But the pain was nothing compared to the sound of my bones reconstructing themselves.

POP! CRACK!

It seemed like hours while the pain took hold of me and rendered me unable to move except for the occasional twitch and clench of my muscles. I could feel my skin began to prickle a second before dark fur began to rise up all over my body. They came out my very pores and then settled among the other hairs like the ones on dogs. My ears shrunk back into my head and new ones came out the top. They twitched and turned as I heard new sounds around me from different directions. My mouth elongated outwards and I felt little prickles on the side as whiskers appeared. My nose became ultra sensitive and I could smell pine, moss, and all sorts of earthy smells as they invaded my nostrils. My vision cleared even more and I could see farther and distinguish different things from the darkness around me than before. I could also see the four strangers better now. They stood ramrod straight with their feet placed casually and wore cut-off jeans but nothing else. Their feet and chests were bare and their hair was cut short. Another snap of pain and I cried out. But it didn't come out as a human cry it sounded more like the whimper of a dog. My legs gave out and then shot up so that I was leaning on my elbows on the ground, slightly off-balance. My knees cracked backwards and I felt excruciating pain as something pushed itself out of my skin from the end of my spine. My hands became paws and my nails turned to sharp claws. This went on forever until finally the pain came to a complete standstill. I let go of the breath I didn't realize I was holding in a huff.

_Is it over?_ I thought.

_No._

In a move I didn't think was possible for me, I was on my feet and a growling noise came from deep in my chest. My ears were flat against my skull and my muzzle was pulled back over my teeth, my eyes searching for the voice. It was like I was acting on instinct and strangely, I didn't mind. I found him in the same place as before, but he was closer and kneeling in front of me. As he reached out to touch me, I growled and snapped at him. He jerked his hand back, smiling. Why the fuck is he smiling? I almost bit his hand off. He should know not to mess with a badass…dog? Wolf. Yeah a wolf, that's much cooler. Something brushed my foot and I whirled around, snapping at whatever it was. When my jaws caught nothing, I was confused. I sniffed the air, trying to scent it. Then I felt it again. This time I waited, tensed. Then I jumped at it, growling. Maybe I could paralyze it with fear but again, nothing. I whined, frustrated. How is this thing so fast? Every time I turn around to try to catch it, it automatically ends up at my back again.

"Yeah, Tyler's still in there. No doubt about that." Someone said. It came from my left and I growled at it, angry that they were just standing there laughing at me when I clearly needed help to catch whatever it was that keeps fucking with me. I heard snickers and chuckles and I swatted my paw at the air in front of them.

"Stop laughing!" I said, but it came out as two short barks.

"Tyler?" I stopped growling at the sound of that voice. It was the voice that was in my head during my…whatever it was and just a little while ago.

"What?" I snapped, one short back this time.

"I can help you catch it." He said, a little amusement in his tone.

"Can you? Please do. It's seriously getting on my fucking nerves, man." This was a series of yelps, barks, and growls.

He walked forward slowly with his hands up and started walking to the back of me. When I saw what he was doing, I turned to face him, growling.

"Do it where I can see you, fucker!" Three barks then a growl.

"I can't do that if I'm not in the back of you, Tyler. It stays there. I can't reach from the front."

"Why not?" I demanded. Bark.

He seemed to think for a moment. "It's attached to your spine, Tyler."

I let out a surprised yelp. My spine? What the fuck was it doing attached to my spine? I didn't notice he had moved till I felt a tug on my spine. I bunched my muscles, preparing to spring at him when he spoke again.

"Tyler, stop. I've caught it. It's okay now." He said. I stopped.

"Then get it away from me!" I said. Growl, bark, bark.

"Alright." He pulled hard and a shock of pain shot up my back and I froze. Wait a minute. Why did that hurt? He pulled and I felt pain. Why am I feeling pain? He let go and I finally realized what it was as I unconsciously twitched it back and forth in pain. My tail! I had a fucking tail?!

"He finally figures it out." The man said and that started a round of laughter. I recognized it as a laugh that I've heard everyday since I was twelve. Jacob.

_He's the one that did this to me. _ I thought angrily.

I crouched on my front legs and bunched my muscles again, my tail swaying spasmodically. I lunged at him, throwing him to the ground with my paws on his chest. I growled long and deep, my eyes locked on his.

_Who the fuck are you laughing at, huh? This is you damn fault, you know that? You and your fucking jokes! _This as a continuous stream a deep growls and snaps.

"Tyler, stop!" Someone yelled. I heard running feet and I snapped at it. They stopped but continued to walk slowly forward, speaking in a soothing tone.

"This has nothing to do with Jake, Tyler. Please let him go and we'll tell you everything."

Let him go? NO! I lunged, intent on sinking my teeth into Jacob when something big hit me from the side. I flew a couple of feet until I hit a tree, splitting it. As I quickly righted myself, I briefly thought of the fact that no one noticed all the noise that was going on here but it stopped short when a huge black figure stalked toward me. I crouched defensively, ready to fight.

_STOP!_

I stopped, frozen. I couldn't move. I whined. What's going on?

_Tyler, this had nothing to do with Jacob. You need to calm down and listen to reason._

It was like the voice had a force to it, a kind of pressure. It halted my movements and suddenly, I had no choice but to obey this voice. I slumped down on my stomach, ears flat.

"I'm sorry, Tyler. I really don't like doing that but you gave me no choice. You have to understand everything before you jump to conclusions. Do you understand?"

I huffed in compliance. I had no energy to do anything else but sit there and listen so I might do just that. The figure came forward and sat cross-legged in front of me and soon everybody was doing the same thing. I looked up into the man's eyes and saw compassion and concern in his eyes.

"Now Tyler, we are going to help you phase back to human form since you are obviously exhausted. And we're going to start by putting both our hand on you, all right? Afterwards, we are going back to the reservation and then we will explain what has happened to you."

I didn't say anything so they took it as a yes. He nodded to the rest of the group and they leaned in unison and put their hands on me. I shook slightly from their touch but the man reassured me with a kind smile and I relaxed. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of their hearts. A new sound made its way to my ears and the longer I listened to it, the calmer I became until it was like I was asleep when I really wasn't.

"Innu, shuzu, mien, jikol…innu, shuzu, mien, jikol...innu, shuzu, mien, jikol…"

I wondered what it was that they were chanting but I completely forgot about it as I felt warmth emanate from their hands onto me. The warmth swirled around in my body until I felt myself start to change back. There was no pain this time like I expected but I felt the essence of the wolf was sucked in and locked up in a corner of my conscious. Somehow, I knew it was there and knew that I could call on it anytime I wanted. How I knew that, I don't know but I was sure the man would explain when this was over and finished with. In a couple of seconds, I was back in my human form. I shivered from the night air that was blowing and it was then that I realized that I was naked. But, again, I didn't mind. I was doing a lot of that tonight. As I caught my breath, the warmth disappeared and everybody stood up and walked to stand in a semi-circle around me. Somebody tossed me a pair of shorts and I put them on carefully. I was still a little sore from the change.

"Alright, everybody gather round." The man said. I sat down on the ground with my legs crossed and waited for the others.

"Aww Sam! Again? How many times are we going to hear this story?"

So the man's name was Sam. Good to know. It was getting kind of weird calling him The Man.

"Until everybody that has phased knows our history. Now sit." There was that commanding voice again. A shiver went up my spine at the tone. The guy that spoke sat down with a huff next to another I didn't know. It wasn't a problem to see because of my new vision.

"Jared, shut up." The gut next to him whispered. All right, keep em' coming.

"Yeah, dude! Shut up before you get us all in trouble."

"You shut up, Paul! Mind your business!" Check!

"All of you be quiet." Sam said calmly. He turned to me. "Sorry about that, Tyler. Now, where do you want to start?"

It was silent for a while as I thought. "Well, the beginnings always a good place, isn't it?" I said. Everybody but Jacob groaned out loud causing Sam to use that voice again. I will never get used to that. It was like invisible force making me do what he says. It's unnerving. Once everybody was quiet again, Sam started to speak.

"According to Quileute legend, the spirit warriors were the first to shift from humans to wolves. Quileute population was always small, but they never disappeared since it was believed they had magic in their bloodlines. The Quileute's settled in La Push and became efficient fishermen and shipbuilders. As time passed, other tribes coveted their land and moved against them for it. The tribe was small and could not defend themselves, so they took their ships and left the land. At sea, Kaheleha used the magic in their blood to defend it. He was the first Spirit Chief in Quileute history. He and all the men left the ships in spirit only, using the original power of Quileute Astral Projection, leaving their bodies behind under the care of the women. Though they could not physically hurt the enemy, the warriors had other ways. They blew fierce winds into enemy camps; they could make great screaming in the wind and could manipulate animals to do their bidding. Animals were the only ones that see them and help. The invading tribe had packs of thick-furred dogs to pull their sleds in the north, and which were set against them. Bats were brought out of the cliff taverns. As a result, the dogs and bats won and the survivors of the invaders scattered thinking the harbor cursed. The Quileutes released the dogs, which ran wild, and returned to their bodies victorious. As word got around of what the Quileutes could do, the Hohs and the Makahs made treaties with the Quileutes because they wanted nothing to do with their magic."

I felt someone sit next to me. I turned to see Jacob looking at me with an apologetic expression. He lifted his chin, determined as he spoke.

"Tyler, I'm sorry to have unintentionally cause you pain. I just want you to know that I never meant for this to happen and that I'm sorry. I don't want to end years of friendship over this so can you forgive me?"

"Jacob, I know you're sorry and of course I forgive you. Now that I'm a wolf, I can totally kick your ass now." I said. He raised his eyebrow and smirked. I grinned evilly.

"You're so on."

"If you two are done?" Sam said.

"Sorry, Sam. Continue."

"Generations passed and the last of the Great Spirit Chief came to be. Taha Aki was a man of peace and was known for his wisdom. However there was one man named Utalpa who believed that they should use their magic to expand their control over the Hohs and the Makahs, building an empire. When the spirit warriors left their minds were all connected to each other. Taha Aki did not like What Utalpa wanted and banned him from the tribe. Utalpa left and hid in the nearby forest. Taha Aki was vigilant and protected his people even when there was no danger. Every so often the Spirit Chief would leave the village to a sacred and secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body and searched the surrounding areas for any dangers or threats. One day, Utalpa followed Taha Aki planning to kill him, but as he waited for him to leave his body he hatched another plan. Utalpa left his body, took Taha Aki's body, and killed his own. Taha Aki knew immediately what was happening when Utalpa joined him in the spirit world. He raced back to his sacred place but it was too late. He followed his body in his sprit self down to the tribe. For weeks he watched with despair, as Utalpa made sure everyone believed he was Taha Aki. The Utalpa first edict came: no warrior was to enter the spirit world because he had a vision of danger, but in truth he was afraid of Taha Aki. Utalpa took liberties with the tribe that no one had dreamed of. He took a second and third wife, even though Taha Aki's wife still lived. Eventually, Taha Aki brought a great wolf down the mountains to kill Utalpa and free the tribe, but Utalpa only hid behind his warriors. The wolf ended up killing a young man, making Taha Aki's grief greater."

"What a douche!"I said.

"Totally agree with you there, Tyler!" someone yelled across the circle.

"Taha Aki had been away from his body long enough to be in agony. He felt doomed of never being able to cross the line between life and death. The great wolf followed him through the forest and Taha Aki felt jealous of the animal; at least it had a body and a life. At that moment, the Spirit Chief had an idea that changed the future of Quileutes. He asked the animal if he could share his body with him and the wolf complied. As a single being, the wolf and the man went to the village. The people feared the wolf, shouting for the warrior's help. The warriors came with spears in their hands, but they stopped in surprise of what the wolf was doing: the wolf was retreating from the warriors and trying to yelp the songs of their people. The warriors realized what it was doing and could only think that it was being influenced by a spirit. An old warrior, Yut, disobeyed the orders of the false chief and left his body. Yut gathered the truth in an instant and welcomed Taha Aki. Almost immediately, Utalpa realized what had happened and raced toward Yut's body with a knife. Yut went back to his body but could not fight Utalpa off before warning the others, as he was too old. Taha Aki watched as Yut's spirit self left the world and returned to the wolf's body feeling a great rage. The wolf shuddered and transformed into a man before the eyes of the warriors. The man did not look like Taha Aki's, but like his spirit self, which the warriors recognized at once. Utalpa tried to run but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf and killed them. Upon comprehension of what happened, everything returned to normal. The only change he kept was the forbidding of spirit travel. From then on, he was Great Wolf or the Spirit Man. He fathered many sons, who in time found that they too could turn into wolves on reaching manhood. However, they were all different because the wolf form reflected the spirit of the man."

"So Quil's a chocolate color, does that mean he's sweet?" someone said. I suspect it was Paul who spoke.

"Yeah, and what about Sam? Black fur, black heart?"

We all laughed, including Sam. After a couple of seconds, we stopped so he could continue. This was getting interesting.

"Some became warriors like Taha Aki and did not age, others did not like to transform, and started to age. After Taha Aki gave his spirit self, trouble began in the north with the Makahs. Several young women had disappeared and they believed the neighborhood wolves were to blame. However, all the wolves knew it was none of them because their minds were still connected with each other. Taha Aki did not want a war, especially since he could not lead his people any longer. He gave his oldest son, Taha Wi, the responsibility of finding who was to blame. Taha Wi led five wolves in search through mountains looking for evidence but they only found a strange sweet scent. They followed it and the journey took them so far north that Taha Wi sent the two youngest brothers to inform the chief. Taha Wi and the other two never returned.

A year later, two Makah maidens were taken from their homes on the same night and the Makahs called upon the wolves. The Quileutes found the same sweet scent and went on a hunt once more. Only one of them returned. Taha Uta, the eldest son of Taha Aki's third wife, returned carrying strange cold pieces of a corpse. He described what had happened to his brothers. One of them had underestimated the strength of the creature and became a victim. Yaha Uta found an opening on the creature's throat and began tearing at him desperately trying to save his brother. It was too late but he succeeded in ripping the enemy apart. Suddenly the corpse began to try to reattach itself and horrified, the elders set fire to it. They spread the ashes far and wide, except for a small bag that Taha Aki wore around his neck to be warned if the creature ever decided to get himself together again.

"What a minute. Jake, didn't your Dad have some kind of bag around his neck that he never took off." I asked him.

He seemed to be in thought for a minute before his eye grew wide. "Yeah, yeah he did. And whenever I asked him about it, he said it was for safekeeping. I always thought he kept some kind of pills or something." He shrugged. Then he looked at Sam. "You're not saying he's…"

Sam smiled and nodded. "Yes, Jacob. Your father was the descendent of the great Taha Aki, The Great Wolf."

"Holy shit Jake! That means that your rightful chief to the tribe, doesn't it." I turned to Sam. "Doesn't it?"

"It is true. If you wish to take your rightful place, you only have to say so."

To everyone's surprise, Jacob shook his head. "No, I don't want it. No offense, but from the very beginning, even before I knew what you guys were doing, I didn't want to be a part of it. Now that I know what I am, I will take my place someday just not now. I'm not ready." He said, looking at Sam the whole time. Sam nodded.

"It is your choice. I will take over until you are ready. Now to continue."

I looked at Jacob incredulously. He shook his head as a mean of telling me he'll spell later. I nodded and turned my attention to Sam.

"The creature was called the Cold One or the Blood Drinker. They feared that there were others like it since they only had only wolf protector left. Then came the Cold Woman, its mate. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, though one small boy claimed the smell hurt his nose."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I just have to say something. Their smell doesn't just hurt my nose; it threatens to burn it right off of my face. It stings like a motherfucker even more when I'm phased." Someone spoke. I didn't recognize their voice so it must be someone new.

"I agree with Quil, dude. It does sting." Jacob spoke."

"You've smelled one before, Jacob?" I asked.

"Yeah, when I phased I could smell it all over Sam. He told me he had just finished catching one before it jumped the cliffs. I remember putting my paw over my nose. It was so bad."

"There are vampires here?" I said, shocked. Sam is the one who spoke.

"Yes, they are here. We've been tracking them for the past two weeks. We chase them to the border but they keep coming back. We don't know what they're after, but we'll find out soon enough."

When he finished, they were some shouts of agreement among the circle. Jake looked lost in thought. I jumped when I heard a growl to my left.

"What the hell was that?" I exclaimed.

Sam chuckled. "Looks like someone's hungry, huh Embry?" That's a new one.

"It's not my fault. I haven't eaten since we chased that big one from that girl's house last night. On top of that, we have patrols. I didn't have any time to eat."

"Alright, let's finish this story up and then we'll go home. Jared, Tyler and Jacob have patrols tonight after you're finished eating, understood?" We all nodded. "Okay, now where was I? Oh, yeah."

"An elder heard the boy and yelled for them to get away. He was the first to die at the mercy of the Cold Woman. She then proceeded to the other people until Yaha Uta arrived, followed by Taha Aki, his third wife, and the elders. When Yaha Uta was defeated, Taha Aki turned into an old grey wolf with the strength given by his strength alone. He began fighting the Cold Woman, when his third wife came to a conclusion. She had just seen her son killed and now her husband ran a terrible danger, along with the rest of her sons and tribe. She heard Yaha Uta's version of events the night the other one was beaten. She knew his brother's divergence had saved him. She grabbed a knife from one of her sons, ran toward the blood drinker and stabbed herself in the heart. The Cold Woman could not turn away from the scent of fresh blood and gave in to the thirst. Taha Aki bit her throat and finished her off along with two sons who felt such rage at seeing their mother dead that they turned into wolves. After that, Taha Aki never returned to his human self, staying to protect his wife's body and leaving to the forest never to return to the tribe.

Taha Aki's descendents no longer turned to wolves when they reached manhood. Only when a cold one was near would they return. They cold ones always came in one or two so the pack stayed small with three wolves until a larger coven came."

"So it's true." Jacob said.

"What is Jake?" I said.

He turned to me. "Remember when my Dad used to tell us those stories of the night creatures when we went camping?"

"Oh, you mean the ones that always scared me half to death? Yeah, why?" I said sarcastically.

"Doesn't this sound like one of those stories?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "You know, now that you mention it, it kinds does." I said.

Jacob turned to look at Sam. "Is it the same story? He used to talk a coven that his ancestor and his pack came across."

"Yes, it's the same. The leader of the coven spoke to Ephraim Black as if he were a man and promised not to harm the Quileutes. His strange yellow eyes gave proof to this, and a treaty was offered to the tribe even though there was no need —they outnumbered the wolves and could have won easily if they fought. Ephraim accepted. As time passed, the coven's numbers forced a larger pack than ever before. Over the years, the coven left and were never seen again."

"So since we have so many wolves, is it possible that there are a large group of vampires are coming? Or are they already here?" I asked. I had a strange urge to protect the girl I saw earlier ignored for now.

"Yes, it means that something is coming. We have proof of that when those vampires keep coming back. And we don't want whoever they're after to get hurt. We are here to protect the humans. And that's what we are going to do." Sam said.

Suddenly, there was a fierce growling and then a shimmer in the air. When I turned I was sitting next to a huge russet-furred wolf. I wasn't afraid, though. I knew it was Jacob. He continued to growl as he was looking at Sam, who after a few seconds let out a gasp.

"Oh, no."

"What is it? What's Jacob so upset about?" I asked.

"Was there a girl with you when you left Jacob by the lake?" he asked, eyes still on Jacob.

"No, but Jacob was on his way to the beach where she usually is so I'm guessing that he saw her there. Why?" I said, confused.

"Because that's who the vampires are after."

**Bella Pov**

I woke to a blinding ray of sunlight shining over my face. I groaned as I rolled over, burying my face in my pillow. My eyes shot open. Wait, my pillow? How the hell did I get here from the beach? I sat up and looked around. It was definitely my bedroom. But who carried me here? My window was open as the breeze fluttered the curtains, which were pulled aside to let the sun in. Looking at my clock on my bedside table, I saw that it was 10:00.

_'It's still early.' _I thought.

"Alice?" I called out. No answer.

I got out of bed and padded over to the open door. I peeked out into the hallway, listening for her laughter or her incessant chatting, the only thing that could prevent her from listening. I heard nothing. I continued downstairs and into the kitchen. There was nobody here. The coffee was still in the pot so I poured my self a cup. As I added milk and sugar, I contemplated what happened last night. I went to the beach and met a guy named Jacob Black. We got into a conversation and I ended up telling him…about…

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, dropping my cup. I didn't flinch as the cup shattered on the linoleum floor. Oh, my god! I told him my past. I told him everything. And then he…he left! That bastard left me sitting there after I trusted him. After he told me I could trust him! I grabbed my torso as I remembered the pain that ripped through me when he walked away. A figure passed in front of my window but when I looked up, it was gone. I shook myself as I bent down to pick up the shards of glass of the floor. A knock at the door made me tense and I cut my palm on the edge of one of the shards. Clenching my fist, I grabbed a dishtowel from the linen closet and wrapped my hand in it. I walked to the door and looked through the keyhole. I jumped back when I saw **him** staring back at me directly through the eye space. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door until the chain stopped it.

"What do you want? You clearly wanted nothing to do with me when you left me on the goddamned beach last night, so why are you here?" I fumed. He didn't answer. He just stared at me with wide eyes. I could not believe this. Is this what he came here for, to stare at me?

"What is your problem? Don't you know it's rude to stare?"

He blinked a few times as he shook his head. As he brought his eyes to mine again, he broke out into a blinding smile. Is this guy crazy?

"Can I help you?" I asked indifferently, eyebrows raised. His smile faded as he donned a guilty expression. Damn right.

"Look, I came here to apologize but due to what just happened I can tell you everything. Can…" He stopped as his eyes dropped to my hand cocooned in the towel.

"You're bleeding? Are you okay?"

My temper had flared before he even started to speak so I only heard those two words. Is that all he had to say? "Are you serious!" I yelled. He jumped back but I quickly unchained the door, reached out and grabbed his arm. With a strength I didn't know I had, I pulled him into the house. The neighbors would probably hear the yelling but I didn't want them to hear what we were saying. I slammed the door behind him and picked up the first thing that my hand touched when happened to be Alice's car keys; complete with the keypad to lock and unlock the car. I threw it at the back of his head. I was full was with sick satisfaction when he winced. The keys clattered to the floor.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I screeched. He turned to glare at me but took a step back when he saw my expression. I lowered my voice to steely calm. "I sat there on that log and told you **everything**, Jacob. I told you shit that not even my parents knew and all you can say is 'Are you okay?!'" I stepped closer to him, my hand tightened inside the towel. This time he held his ground.

"Bells wait, I-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I screamed as pain ripped through my torso at the nickname; the name my father used to call me. I panted from the pain but did not take my eyes off him. "You do not deserve that right. You don't deserve shit after what you did to me. You left me there, Jacob. I'm pretty sure you heard me…" I trailed off. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. When I opened them, I didn't look at him.

"Leave."

"Bella, wait. I can explain. Please, just let me-"

"I don't want to hear anything." I spat. I turned and stalked to the door. Opening the door, I said, "Leave, Jacob. Before I do something I will regret. Or better yet, stay there. I'm sure I can find something heavier to hit you with."

He sighed as he walked through the door, ducking under the doorframe. "I really am sorry, Bella. And I wish you would let me explain."

I looked at him. His big brown eyes pleaded with me to understand. But underneath all the pain he inflicted on me just by walking away, my anger boiled away any understanding that I had at the moment.

"Goodbye, Jacob. It's been very unpleasant to see you again. I hope I don't see you again. Have a very shitty day." I said as I closed the door. As soon as the door closed, my angry slipped away and made way for the pain. I didn't bother locking the door as I slid down the door clutching my chest, throwing away the stupid dishtowel. I cried for everything: my father, my past, and my stupid gullibility. I couldn't believe I let him in. I don't know how long I sat there, crying my heart out on the tiled floor. But when I came to, I glanced up at my clock that I had hanging over my fireplace. It was around 2:00. I cried for almost four hours? I was still trying to wrap my head around it when Alice came in.

"Bella? Are you home?" She called out.

"I'm in here, Ali." I croaked. My throat hurt from crying so much. I cleared it just as she came around the corner of the stairs.

"Bella! Oh, my god, are you okay?!" She ran forward and kneeled in front of me. She gathered me in her tiny arms and held me and I clung to her like a lifeline. "I looked for you last night so that we go out and I couldn't find you! I was so worried!" She cried.

"I'm okay, Ali. No harm done. Physically."

She pulled back and looked at me. "What do you mean 'physically'? What happened, Bella?"

"I told him everything, Alice. **Everything**. And he left…me …there…alone…" My eyes filled with tears again and I wiped them away roughly.

"What are you talking about, Bella?" She asked. I wiped my face on my sleeve again. Alice reached into her coat and pulled out some napkins. She handed them to me and I blew my nose.

"Thanks, Ali."

"Your welcome. I had them leftover from my semi-date with Tyler." She smiled, showing her teeth. "I was worried about you all day at work today. I know that you stay out late sometimes when you have your walks but that didn't stop me from worrying. Then there was this new guy at work. Tyler." Her eyes seemed to glaze over when she said his name. "He took me out to lunch today and helped me get my mind off of worrying so much. He was so sweet." She smiled again, but there was something in her eyes that said something was wrong. But before I could say something, she spoke.

"So what happened?"

I took a shuddering breath and leaned back against the door again. "You remember when I left to go for my usual walk? Well, I met a boy named Jacob Black there." I said his name like a curse.

"You met a boy? Well, that sounds like a good thing to me, Bella."

"Oh, it was anything but good, trust me." I said scathingly. "We sat down and we exchanged names and he somehow got me to talk about…" I stopped, closing my eyes and burying my head into my folded arms.

"About what? What did you guys talk about?" She asked.

I lifted my head and looked at her, on the verge of tears again. "My past, Alice. We talked about my past. He said that he always sees me there and wanted a chance to talk to me. He suggested that I trust in him to get it off my chest. He told me he was a good listener." I laughed bitterly. "Lies, lies, and more fucking lies!"

She stared at me. "You talked about your past with him? But I thought you said you didn't want anyone else to know but me."

"I know but it was this nagging feeling in my head when I looked at him. I felt like I could trust him, Alice." I whispered as I remembered the look in his eyes when he asked me to trust him. Then my anger came back full force. "I guess I my misplaced trust came back to bite me in the ass." I huffed. Getting off the floor, I headed into the kitchen to clean up the glass I dropped earlier.

"Did you know that he came by and tried to apologize to me? He leaves me out there on the beach alone and then wants to just apologize? And then, mind you, the guy full on stared at me when I opened the door. Like a whole ten seconds. Then he snaps out of it, looks at me, and gives me this big ass smile. I swear the guy was nuts."

"Bella, wait." She said.

"Yeah?"

"What did this guy look like? Was he gorgeous with huge muscles and cropped black hair?"

"Um yes. Why?"

"No reason. Tyler told me about his brother so I assumed that he looked like Tyler. Hey, are you okay?" She asked. I looked up at the tone of her voice and saw her holding the bloodied towel. I sighed before I walked over and took it from her. I walked over to the kitchen sink and turned on the water. I soaked it and started scrubbing the blood out. Wouldn't want it to stain, would we?

"Yeah Alice, I'm fine. I dropped the cup of coffee by accident and forgot to clean it. It stopped bleeding a while ago, so it's okay now." I said, turning to give her a reassuring smile. She smiled back and turned to walk up the stairs.

"I'm going to get ready to go back to work. I just came home to see if you were okay. Tyler is picking me up so if you want to see him, he'll be here in about ten minutes." She said.

Oh, no. She wasn't getting off that easily.

"So…"

She stopped and turned, her expression a mixture of guilt and wariness. "Yeah Bella?"

"You said you went on a semi-date with a guy named Tyler? While I don't know what a semi-date is, I do know you are not leaving this kitchen until you give me details." I turned to look at her, a smirk on my face. What she didnt know was that i needed to get my mind of **him**and what better way than hearing Alice talk about her love life. She sighed and walked forward to sit on the counter next to me. When she hopped up, which I don't know how she did when her shortness should have prevented it. I finished with the towel and wrung it out tight.

"Stay." I said sternly. She glared at me and, in true Alice nature; she stuck her tongue out at me. Shaking my head, I headed upstairs and tossed the towel in the hamper that was tucked into the space underneath all the shelves in the linen closet. It was all mumbo-jumbo in there so I decided to spare some time refolding them. I know what you're thinking. Who refolds their linens? But it gave me something else to think about. When I finished, I headed downstairs, I saw her on her phone. Thinking it was Tyler; I stopped by the foot of the stairs.

"Yeah, I know that. But what am I supposed to tell her? She's my best friend, I can't lie." She whispered. I frowned. Tell me what? She was pacing the floor when she stopped suddenly.

"Yes, I know. Isn't it great?" She said. She sounded excited. What were they talking about? A few seconds passed before she let out a squeal. I put my hands over my ears.

"She told me that he stared at her for a good ten seconds, you did the same thing, remember? You nearly ran into the lady coming out behind me." She said. She moved the phone away from her ear and turned her head to look toward the staircase. I moved back, pressing my back against the wall. I hoped she didn't see me.

"Well, yeah. She said that he looked like you, except for the tattoo, which I'm assuming happened afterwards, right?" She asked. I sighed with relief. Peeking out from behind the wall, I sidled along the wall until I could hear into the living room.

"But doesn't this mean he can tell her now? He doesn't have to keep it secret from her?"

Keep what secret? These are a lot of questions!

"Oh, that's why she was crying." She said. "She said he left her there on the beach. Is that where it happened? …Oh, I see…was that Sam? ...Yeah, I understand. I'll see you tomorrow at work." She said. Then she giggled. "Goodbye, Tyler."

When she hung up, I walked around the corner to lean against the wall, arms crossed. "So, was that Tyler?" I said. She jumped and turned to look at me with wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah. That was him. He just wanted to see me tomorrow."

Liar! I pretended like I didn't notice. I came and sat down next to her on the couch. "Alright, that's cool. Now, talking time."

She visibly relaxed as she took a deep breath and began.

**Jacob Pov**

As I walked away from Bella's house, I sighed sadly. First I imprint on her and I'm all happy because I get to tell her everything, not just some half-truth made-up lie about what happened. Then I get kicked of her house after she lays into me about leaving her on the beach. I mean, I'm not saying I don't deserve it. I most definitely do. Even though I didn't take her home, I'm glad somebody did.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

_I got up and started towards the direction of the beach. I couldn't leave her there. The least I could do is take her home. I got a couple of feet into the trees before a hand on my shoulder stopped me._

_"Jacob, where are you going?" I knew it was Sam by the way he spoke. Even as my Alpha, I was tempted to punch him hard enough to make him speak normally. 'Maybe if I accept my role as Alpha, I could make him.' I thought. Sighing, I answered. _

_"I have to go and find Bella, Sam. I left her on the beach by herself. I'm pretty sure you heard her screaming and crying. You don't know what that girl went through. She doesn't deserve to wake up in the dark. And you said so yourself that the vampires are after her, so it only makes sense that I go find her, doesn't it? Or did you have something else in mind?" When I finished, I turned to face him._

_"Jacob, we need you here. We have patrols to do and I can't have you running off. I'm sure her friend will find her and take her home." He said._

_Is he for real?_

_"Sam, that is the most fucked up thing that I have heard out of your mouth! Are you seriously telling me to leave a human out there stranded when vampires are stalking her? Cause' that's exactly what it sounds like to me!" I shouted. My arms started trembling and I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, I stepped back a couple of steps. I opened my eyes and glared at Sam when he started speaking. _

_"Jacob, calm down. I'm not saying that we should leave her there." He rephrased. "You are not in control of your anger just yet and I know you don't want to risk hurting her." he explained. I looked away. He was right, I didn't._

_"So what do you want to do?" I asked. He sighed in relief._

_"Why don't I ask Jared or Quil to go get her? Would that be okay?"_

_"Alright, that's fine with me. Just make sure she gets to the house safely, okay?"_

_"Will do, Jacob. Now go patrol. You're on with Paul and Embry."_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

Walking to the edge of the trees, my heart clenched when I heard the sound of her crying. Sighing again, I took my shirt off and wrapped it around my ankle with the stretchable cord that Sam gave me just this morning. Good thing, too. It would have sucked to carry that around in my mouth. I started jogging…then running…then full-out sprinting before I let the heat engulf me and soon enough, I was running on four legs. I headed to the reservation to talk to Sam, hoping he can explain this. I couldn't bare it if she hated me.

Alice Pov

Bella's mood went on for an entire week, which left me trying to get to Tyler to talk to her, but since she knew that he and Jake were friends, she wouldn't speak to him. Jacob came to the house when Bella was gone one day (she chose another place the next day after Jake come to apologize) and told me what happened when he left her on the beach. He said that after he thought over it and talked to his Alpha, he says it was his wolf protecting his imprint even if he didn't know what was happening. I didn't think so badly of him after that. I mean, if he came all the way here to apologize then he really must mean it. She told him to leave the house and he came back to try and explain himself so he just needs to give her time. Plus, being that I know all about imprinting from the bonfire that I went to yesterday, Bella and Jake are doing no good being away from each other. She'll come around eventually.

I lay in bed after a movie with Tyler, smiling over his latest text message. But the smile quickly turned to a frown. Bella's been through too much in her life and I feel bad being happy when she could have the same thing I do with Tyler. She deserves to be happy. I know she blames Jacob for leaving her on the beach after their conversation but it wasn't his fault. He has to keep the secret from outsiders. I sigh. I just hope she doesn't have to endure too much before she realizes what's going on.

Clack!

I rose up out of bed when I heard the sound. Someone was throwing pebbles at my window. I was getting out of bed when my phone rang with a call. Looking at it, I frowned when I realized it was unknown number. I pressed TALK.

_Alice/_**Jacob**

_'Hello?'_

**'Is Bella home?'**

_'Why do you want to know?'_

**'It's Jacob Black. I need to talk to her. Is this Alice?' **

_'Yes. Where are you? Did you throw a pebble at my window?'_

**'I'm outside your window. I did throw the pebble but then Tyler told me to call you instead.' **

I jumped out of the bed and ran to the window, eager to see Tyler. I pulled up the glass and leaned over the ledge. I let out a yelp when I saw them close-up in the tree next to my window.

"Sorry about that, Ali. I didn't mean to scare you." He said. But there was glint in his eye that told me he found it funny. I glared at him playfully.

"Oh, it's fine, Tyler. No harm done. Do you guys want to come in? I mean, I'll probably have to shoo the guys from downstairs but I'm sure they won't mind." I said, smirking when Tyler and Jacob started growling. Putting my phone on my dresser, I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, hush, you two. You know there are no guys in here. You would have heard them or smelled them or whatever other supernatural abilities you have."

I moved back as they came through the window. I gasped when Tyler grabbed me by the waist and started sniffing my neck. I whimpered, placing my hands on his chest and tilting my head to give him more access as he did as his instincts told him to. When he pulled back, he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. He forced my mouth open with his tongue and me, being so weak-willed from his attention at my neck, let him. I moaned at his taste; honeysuckle and chocolate. I love chocolate!

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine, both of us panting. "Don't say things like that to me, Ali. It drives my wolf crazy."

"Your wolf?"

"Yes, my wolf. I know I've only been a wolf for a day but it feels like longer than that. From the time that I shifted back, I have connected with my wolf on so many levels. It's unbelievable. I mean, even Sam told me that I've done better than he did when he first phased." He said, eyes alight with awe.

"I'm proud of you, Tyler. I really am but I can't stop worrying about Bella and Jacob and what she's going through right now."

"I know, Ali. I know. Trust me, Jacob knows what he's doing. Speaking of Jacob, where is he?"

A crash from Bella's bedroom next door had us running out in time to see Jacob fly through and tumble down the stairs. Tyler started shaking so I knew he was about to phase based on what he told me. I moved away from him but started forward at the sound of Bella's scream. I jerked to a stop at the doorway to see a pale man holding Bella by the neck against the wall. The moonlight shined through the window onto his skin, making it glisten.

Vampire.

My eyes darted around the room, looking for anything to defend my friend with. My eyes locked onto a can of Raid bug spray and Tyler's warning flashed through my head.

_'Vampires are only killed by tearing them apart and burning the pieces but since you don't have the strength for that, you can settle on just burning them, that'll buy you some time.'_

Grabbing the bug spray, I snatched Bella's lighter off her dresser - briefly wondering why she would have one -, and aimed it at the vampire. I walked forward slowly and at the same time, flicking the lighter on. The vampire's head snapped around to stare wide-eyed at the flame in my hand. He immediately dropped Bella and backed against the wall. Bella fell to the ground, clutching her throat and gasping for breathe. I felt warmth behind me and knew that one of the boys was standing behind me. I took another step toward him, making sure the nozzle of the can was aimed at his face.

"Alright, vampire. I am only going to say this once. Stay the fuck away from me and my friend, got it? If I catch you near here again, I will make sure that my boyfriend or the flame makes sure you don't come back. Permanently."

The vampire nodded franticly before jumping out of the open window. I heard laughing beside me before the fear and shock finally overtook me and I fainted.

**Tyler Pov**

I panicked as I saw her body sway before tilting sideways. I caught her just in time before she hit the ground. "Ali, wake up, honey. Come on, open your eyes for me, baby."

It was around this time that Bella realized what was happening and she came forward and tried to help. "Tyler, I know how you feel right now but I think it's better to let her rest. She'll come around after the shock wears off."

I nodded and leaned forward to scoop her into my arms. She groaned before going silent again. I walked down the hallway to her bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. "Wake up soon, Ali. I need to see you smiling again." I said. Kissing her forehead, I placed the blanket over her and walked out. I stopped when I saw Bella standing at the top of the stairs, pale as a sheet. Her eyes were wide and she had her covering her mouth and she was shaking.

"Bella, what's wrong?" I asked her.

She didn't move. She just stood there so I walked forward to see what had her so shaken up. I never knew I could run that fast because the next thing I knew I was kneeling to Jake, checking for his heartbeat; he was so still that it was a natural instinct. "Jake! Jake, wake up man!"

I shook him but there was no response. That was Bella came down the stairs and dropped next to Jacob's head. She reached a shaking arm out and stroked his head. "Jake, p-please wake u-up. I'm so s-sorry I ignored and y-yelled at you. P-please wake u-up. Please w-wake up!" She cried. When he didn't respond, she laid her head on his chest and began to sob heavily.

"Bella, I'm going to take him to the couch. You can stay with him but I'm sure he be more comfortable if he woke up on something soft." I said, placing a hand on her back. She lifted her head and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said. "I'll go upstairs for some blankets."

As tenderly as I could, I picked him up and walked to the couch. Before I set him down, Bella came back downstairs with a thick afghan. I placed Jake down on the couch gently and then stood back. Bella came forward, flipped it out and laid it over him. She grabbed a pillow from the loveseat and put on the floor, sitting on it. I wanted to give them some privacy so I decided to go check on Alice. As I walked up the stairs, I heard her whispering to Jake.

"Please come back to me, Jake. I'm so sorry."

**Okay. Before I posted this, I put it through my ABC check so whatever I missed I'm so sorry! Tell me what you think and Review!**


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